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It’s known for inspired coffee flavors like caramel sugar cookie and peanut butter, and for amazing breakfast sandwiches and pastries like chocolate chip espresso muffins.
Oh, and it was the first in the area to offer the TikTok craze of a 34-ounce iced coffee bucket this past summer. Common Grounds Café of Wilbraham, located at 2341 Boston Rd., has quickly become the local place for morning caffeination, whether it’s a quick stop for a to-go Americano or latte or a relaxing sip in their downstairs café or upstairs coffee lounge.
Though the coffee shop has been a Boston Road staple since 2012, new owner Kris Barthelette gave the interior a makeover after purchasing the established business in October of 2023, putting her own mark on the atmosphere and vibe.
“I have a love of décor, and interior design and when we bought the shop, I spent three weeks and did my own redesign of the interior,” Barthelette said.
What she didn’t have when she bought Common Grounds was any knowledge of coffee.
“I was a die-hard tea drinker … I never drank coffee, but now I can’t go a day without coffee!” Barthelette shared.
A former director of operations at a document scanning company, Barthelette said her initial impetus for purchasing the business was gaining a measure of work-life flexibility to raise her “miracle” baby, Braelyn, who was born to her and husband Christian when Barthelette was 45. Braelyn was 7 months old when Barthelette made the career change. And though her career move was to a coffee shop, Barthelette admitted she was initially looking for any type of small business in her hometown of Wilbraham that would offer her the kind of flexibility she was seeking to raise her daughter.
“I went in completely blind,” Barthelette admitted about her knowledge of running a café that served coffee and food. But she quickly immersed herself in learning all she could about the coffee business. Some staff members who had worked for the original Common Grounds owner also stayed on for a bit to help Barthelette through the transition, she said.
“I took classes, and I met with our coffee roaster. I learned a lot from him,” Barthelette said of her ongoing relationship with Saccuzzo Coffee Company, a family-owned roaster from Newington, Connecticut. “I would never make any changes with the coffee. It’s an amazing business to work with.”
She also said her customers rave about the coffee, another reason not to change suppliers.
But Common Grounds is about much more than just serving a good cup of joe. The café’s beverage menu choices range from hot and iced tea to coffee Americano — also hot or iced — lattes, espresso/turbo, cold brew, matcha, chai tea, protein shakes, and frozen or hot chocolate.
Electronic screens above the counter list the brewed iced coffee flavors for the day — usually around a dozen, which Barthelette said customers “really enjoy” — plus a choice of two or three hot brewed flavors. Common Grounds also offers a selection of flavor shots that allow customers to further customize their coffee of choice, along with four refreshers, including strawberry acai, hibiscus and green teas and lemonade. In addition to the extensive menu, Barthelette said the café offers new specialty drinks each month. “I came up with a variety of espressos, lattes, and chai tea drinks, offered hot or iced,” she explained. “There’s one [electronic] menu that just offers the specials.”
Barthelette said she uses the holidays and the seasons for her inspiration for the specialty drinks. “For Halloween, we have our Boo Brew — and we draw ghosts on the cups,” she said as an example. At holiday time, they draw snowmen and Christmas trees on customers’ latte cups, and for this past Fourth of July, Barthelette said they developed a “red, white and blue” slushie that was a customer favorite.
She added that in the past year, she and her staff also started writing inspirational messages on all the hot drink cups, something customers really seem to appreciate.
Beyond the coffees, a choice of five breakfast sandwiches is served until 12:30 p.m., with some, such as the Vermonter — a medley of egg, bacon, cheese and maple syrup — carried over from the café’s original menu because they were such customer favorites. About a year ago, Barthelette said they added some new sandwiches, including one called the “South of the Border” — egg, sausage, pepperjack cheese, avocado and mango salsa — that’s become a big hit.
Bagels with assorted spreads, toast, egg bites, classic egg and meat sandwiches, hash browns, Nutella banana toast, feta glazed avocado toast and bacon avocado toast round out the warm breakfast offerings. Common Grounds also offers an assortment of pastries and muffins to accompany their coffees. Barthelette noted that she’s started baking some of the muffins herself, with the chocolate chip espresso being her current specialty.
Chobani yogurt, smoothies and juices are also available, as are some locally made items, including elderberry lemonade, elderberry syrup, Sweet Babu’s Granola and Salty Baker scones.
“I love giving back and supporting other small businesses,” Barthelette said, adding the elderberry syrup and lemonade are products of local business Mama Life Oils and Wellness, and Otis-based Bookman Candle Company produces a coffee-scented candle, complete with her logo, that’s available for purchase in the shop.
All Common Grounds menu items are available for in-café ordering or online ordering at https://tinyurl.com/3ka3mrzj. Barthelette said the café recently added delivery through DoorDash, which has been “very successful” for the business.
Barthelette said Common Grounds also has a coffee cart that she brings to support events at other businesses after hours, and she hosts special contests each month, such as guess the number of coffee beans in the jar, and gives away gift cards to other businesses as the prize “to help them out.”
As Common Grounds approaches its two-year anniversary under Barthelette’s helm, she said the business has thrived because of her “wonderful staff — if I didn’t have my staff to help me, I couldn’t do it.” She also praised her husband, Christian and her two stepchildren, Victoria and Alex, who work with her in the café, and the littlest barista, Braelyn — who she said customers have watched “grow up in the shop” — making Common Grounds a true family affair.
“I didn’t purchase this coffee shop with any expectations, I just wanted to have a business where I could raise my daughter at a later age,” Barthelette shared. “But people connected to [my] story, and it’s been great.
“More than I ever imagined possible, and my biggest surprise has been the loyalty, the following … you take care of people, and they take care of you … it’s been very touching,” she said.
COMMON GROUNDS, LOCATED AT 2341 BOSTON RD. IN WILBRAHAM,
IS OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY FROM 7 A.M. TO 1 P.M. AND SATURDAY FROM 8 A.M. TO 1 P.M.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, FOLLOW THE CAFÉ ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, OR VISIT ITS WEBSITE: HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/3KA3MRZJ.
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